Monday, October 28, 2013

Taubman Asia Announces Ground-breaking of Hanam Union Square Shopping Center Site in Greater Seoul


Rendering of planned Hanam Union Square shopping center
Hanam City, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea

HONG KONG, Oct. 28, 2013 – Taubman Asia, a subsidiary of U.S. mall REIT, Taubman Centers, Inc., today officially announced the groundbreaking of the Hanam Union Square shopping center, a 4.5 million square feet (430,000 sqm) GFA mall in Hanam City, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea.

Rene Tremblay
Taubman Asia and Shinsegae Group, Korea’s leading luxury department store retailer, are the joint investors in the project and are co-developing the site. Hanam Union Square is scheduled to open in the second half of 2016.

Taubman will provide development, leasing, operations and ongoing center management services. Taubman Asia will invest US$330 million in Hanam Union Square for a 30 percent interest in the US$1.1 billion project, demonstrating its commitment to the Korean retail industry and belief in its growth potential.

A ceremony was held at the property today, signifying construction getting underway. Guests of honor present included the Governor of Gyeonggi Province, Mr. Moon-su Kim; the Mayor of Hanam City, Mr. Kyo-beom Lee; National Assembly member, Mr. Hyunjae Le; the Vice Chairman of Shinsegae Group, Mr. Yong-jin Chung, and Taubman Asia President, Mr. René Tremblay.

Moon-su Kim
“Taubman Asia is honored to have been chosen by Shinsegae as its retail partner for the development of Hanam Union Square,” said Mr. Tremblay. “We are proud to be part of the transformation of Hanam City into a premier shopping and entertainment destination for Koreans.

“This project provides us with a great opportunity to further leverage Taubman’s 60-plus year retail heritage, and bring a new level of world-class retail environment to the sophisticated Korean market.”

With a gross leasable area of approximately 1,700,000 square feet (157,000 sqm), Hanam Union Square is designed to be a unique, multi-level – three levels for retail, plus basement, deck and rooftop parking – lifestyle shopping mall with Shinsegae Department Store as the anchor tenant.

Yong-jin Chung

“We also anticipate there will be a significant number of high-end flagship stores, and feature leisure and entertainment facilities such as a hypermarket, cinema, spa, food and beverage and more,” Mr. Temblay said.

“When completed we expect the mall to contribute to the local economy by creating over 7,000 jobs.”

This type of regional mall is new to the Korean market, and will be among the largest in the country. With distinct areas being developed for families, teenagers, and Korea’s most discerning shoppers, Hanam Union Square will meet the wants and needs of a wide range of visitors.

IFC Seoul Mall
Mr. Yong-jin Chung said, "Through the strategic partnership with Taubman Asia, which has successful know-how in the development and management of lifestyle shopping mall complexes, we will create a landmark leading tourist business in the capital region."

Located in one of the most scenic areas of Greater Seoul, with tourist attractions nearby, Hanam Union Square will be directly connected to the seven-lane Misari Expressway, which is linked to the Greater Seoul freeway network.

In addition to Hanam Union Square in Greater Seoul, Taubman Asia’s portfolio also includes managing the operations of IFC Mall in Seoul, which was opened fully leased in August 2012, and two recently announced projects in Xi’an and Zhengzhou, China which are scheduled
to open in late 2015.

For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:

 Pamela So 
Weber Shandwick,
Hong Kong
+852 2533 9916